One Health Disparities and Blastocystis infection among smallholder farmers in northeastern Madagascar

Abstract

<jats:p><jats:italic>Blastocystis</jats:italic> is a globally transmitted gastrointestinal protozoa that commonly infects people living in low- and middle-income countries. Transmission is thought to occur via consumption of contaminated water or food and through contact with infected animals, although the specific factors that influence infection in low-resource, rural settings remain unclear. We applied a One Health Disparities framework that considers the interconnectedness of human, nonhuman animal, and environmental health to investigate disparities in <jats:italic>Blastocystis</jats:italic> spp. infection in rural northeastern Madagascar. We focused on a suite of predictors including wealth, animal contact, hand hygiene, and demographic factors. Overall, 76.5% of 783 participants were infected with at least one of three subtypes of <jats:italic>Blastocystis</jats:italic>, and 19% of people were co-infected with two or more subtypes (ST1, 2, and 3). We found that men had lower risk of infection than women, while individuals who reported washing their hands without soap had higher odds of infection across all subtypes. Within a single subtype, soap-use remained significant for both ST1 and ST2, while for ST3, the effect of gender remained significant. Wealth and animal interactions had no significant associations with infection. Our study sheds light on gender disparities and the importance of hand hygiene in explaining variation in <jats:italic>Blastocystis</jats:italic> infection in rural Madagascar, while failing to support hypotheses based on socioeconomic status and exposure to domesticated animal reservoirs of disease. The findings also underscore the importance of gastrointestinal infections in vulnerable rural populations in Madagascar and highlight ways to address health equity and environmental justice in rural, low-resource settings.</jats:p>